[Meg]

We had a terrific list going before the Great Crash of 2004, so let's see if we can recreate it.

[MrsJim]

I posted this article from the Dr. Phil site just prior to the Big Crash It's about making resolutions...

Making Resolutions a Reality

Whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking, get your finances in order, or stop procrastinating, Dr. Phil has advice to help make your resolutions stick.


Set a very specific goal. Do you want to work out 30 minutes a day four days a week? "Being happy," for example, is not specific enough. Define exactly what you want in clear terms.


Set a goal that has a measurable outcome. "Getting in shape" is not quantifiable. Without a goal that is measurable, how will you know when you've made progress or even reached it?


Assign a timeline. "Someday" is not a day of the week. The difference between a dream and a goal is a timeframe for making it happen. A deadline can also help motivate you and prevent you from procrastinating.


Choose a goal you can control. You don't control how much you weigh. You can influence it, and you can control the things upon which your weight is based, but you do not control the number on the scale. In identifying your goal, strive for what you can really create — not just what you fantasize about.


Program your life with a strategy. Willpower is a myth. It's emotionally powered, and emotions are fickle. Wanting to do something — no matter how badly you want it — won't make it happen. You need a plan and you need to change something in your lifestyle. Realistically assess the obstacles and resources involved, and create a strategy for navigating that reality. Your environment, your schedule and your accountability must be programmed in such a way that all three support you. Life is full of temptations and opportunities to fail. Without programming, you will find it much harder to stay the course.


Identify small steps. Major life changes don't just happen; they happen one step at a time. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Steady progress through well-chosen, realistic, interval steps produces results. Know what those steps are before you set out.


Create accountability. Without accountability, people are apt to con themselves. If you know precisely what you want — and there are real consequences for not doing the assigned work — you are more likely to continue in your pursuit of your goal. Find someone in your circle of family or friends to whom you can be accountable. Make periodic reports on your progress.


If you're trying to quit smoking, the one thing you need to control is your environment. Set your environment up so that it does not support your habit. Don't keep cigarettes in the house. Don't buy them at all, or you're programming yourself for failure. Your lifestyle supports your habit, so you need to change your lifestyle. Yes, there is a physical addiction. But it's also a choice. Don't use the addiction as your permission slip to keep doing it. Remember that you don't break habits: You replace one behavior with a new one.

If you're trying to get in shape or lose weight, make sure you have a plan and start making a lifestyle change. It is difficult to be overweight without a lifestyle that supports it. Willpower will not make things change. "Gym memberships don't take weight off," says Dr. Phil. "Using them does." Do not feed loneliness with food, he suggests, and be sure to clean up your environment by getting rid of "impulse foods." You can't eat what's not there.

Remember, winners do what losers don't want to do. Have passion, take action, and you'll get what you're after.

[Meg]

Let’s see if I can remember my goals for 2004 ... Like Mel, I hadn’t copied them down but just kept referring to them here.

1. On December 31, 2004, weigh the same or below my January 1, 2004 weight I remember that I said that was the single most important goal for me. Now that it’s past January 1, I can put a number to that — 136. So my most important goal is to weigh at or below 136 at the end of this year. The way I will accomplish it is by using all the tools and skills and knowledge that I learned while I was losing the weight. Every day. If I fall down (and I will ) I'll pick myself up and keep going. I won't wait for tomorrow or Monday or the first of the month.

2. Get to the “half-of-me” weight of 128.5 My plastic surgeon suggested that I would get the best possible results out of the “touch up” surgery if I have the least amount of fat possible on my legs (my problem area, for sure! ) The way that I will reach this goal is through intense cardio, lifting as heavy as possible, and squeaky clean nutrition, limiting calories to 1200-1500/day.

3. Do a real pull-up (I can do four with my hands facing each other but can’t quite get one with my hands out wide). The way I will reach this goal is through pull-ups on the assisted pull-up machine and negatives. But I also want to be careful not to make my back much bigger for fear of busting out of my blouses!

4. Squat over 200 pounds again I did this before my surgery in August but am not quite back there again (don’t laugh, Mel!) (that’s a warm-up set for Mel ) The way I will reach this goal is by doing legs heavy every week and gradually increasing the weight.

5. Practice eating “red light” foods in moderation Right now I’m still a binger (one cookie is too many and a dozen aren’t enough) but would like to have a more normal relationship with food. This goal may need to wait until I accomplish #2, however.

6. Get more sleep I'm convinced that adequate sleep is essential to fat loss and to being able to keep my eating under control.

7. Reach out to anyone who needs a helping hand or a sympathetic ear in our battle to lose and keep off fat Losing and keeping off the weight has been one of the hardest and one of the most rewarding things I've done in my life. I'll never forget how it felt to be obese for so many years and if I can help one person overcome that pain and auguish, I'd consider it to be an honor.

Edited to add one more that I just remembered:


8. Finish the plastic surgery to get rid of the excess skin My doc says that I have two surgeries left to go in order to touch up and finish the skin project. Neither should be as extensive as Part One -- January's lower body lift -- and Part Two -- August's work on the thighs and knees and arms. I'm loving the results and know that I'll bounce back just as fast as I did after Parts One and Two.

Here's to a healthy and fit year for us all!

[Mel]

A heartfelt thanks to Dip from LWL who copied my goals. Here's what I posted before the big crash:

I've never posted goals before other than a scale # and haven't really thought them out formally, but here goes. This may end up a stream of consciousness ramble, so stop reading when you get bored.

1) Drop the scale weight about 10 pounds or to 15% body fat with as little muscle loss as possible.

2) Learn to follow Dip's 3 bite rule when I feel like binging. At this point, I binge when tired, hungry, annoyed, then either follow it with a few days starvation or worse. Basically, I'd like to learn to overcome the bulemia that has plagued me since I was in my early 20's. I'm not sure I can do this without help, since the only time it hasn't been a problem was when I just let myself get fat for 20 years. So unless I can master this problem in the next 3-4 months, I will look for professional help from a knowledgable eating disorder expert. I'm really embarrassed and disgusted with myself to have to admit to what is generally thought of as a teenager problem at the age of 49.

3) Eat clean with 1 treat a week: PLANNED!

4) Improve my son's eating habits (age 13) without him knowing about it or thinking that he's on "mom's diet."

5) Go back to doing intense cardio and interval training instead of "lazy cardio" once my toes heal after having dropped a 45 pound plate on them yesterday.

6) Do sets of 10 unassisted pull-ups. Currently at 5-6 per set, and I was able to do 8 before I got sick. This year's flu is a bugger.

7) Build up my client base (I'm a newly certified and employed personal trainer) and get as many people as excited and addicted to weight training as I am

8) Join Meg and Karen in the "Get rid of the skin" challenge. At my age and weight history, skin does not shrink and I want my body to look like I've put as much work into as I have. This means that goal 1 and 7 have to be met, and I have to do a lot of working on my dh who is very anti-plastic surgery.

9) Stop thinking of myself as a fat lady temporarily in smaller clothes. I am who I am now.

Wow- that's a pile of goals. Didn't even mention getting in all my workouts because that is a given. Time to quit for a while and go eat

Mel

[diphthong]

Reposting mine here too because before the year is out, I *will* be a Maintainer.

Goal 1. – Continue doing what I have been, knowing that it works for me, in a concerted and conscious effort to lose 8# per month.

A. I will allow myself one free meal a week, nothing elaborate but something so I don’t feel deprived.

B. I will not binge, but will apply the 3-bite rule if I feel I absolutely have to have something that may lead to a binge.

C. I will plan my daily food intake each morning on my Fitday.com account.

1. 40% low-fat Protein, 40% low-gly Carbs, <20% Fat not to exceed 1400 calories per day.

2. Each 4th day, I will lower my carb intake.

3. On days after I lift, I will supplement my protein intake to assist in muscle healing.

4. I will grocery shop, pre-plan and prepare my food on Sundays and Wednesdays.

D. I will do cardio 6 days per week, in the morning before Meal 1.

1. A minimum 60 minutes per day. If I have to split it up into 2 sessions due to time constraints, each session will be a minimum of 40 minutes. Warm-up and Cool-down time does not apply.

I will continue to work on increasing my running time.
I will do a tri-cardio at least 3 of the 6 days.

E. I will lift weights, every other day according to schedule, doing a minimum of 2 exercises per muscle or target area. I will also do floor exercises and ball work, increasing reps consistently.

1. I will continue to increase the weights, as I grow stronger.

2. I will try one new exercise each week from my collection.

F. I will schedule my work-outs for the week in my Day-timer every Sunday, and keep my appointments with myself, forsaking all others except emergencies.

G. I will surround myself with a positive and influential support system that will help me stay accountable to myself in pursuing my goals. I will ‘pass it on’ and support others who seek my support.

H. I will feed my sub-conscious with daily messages that this plan is not a diet or temporary fix, but a way of life for the rest of my life.

1. I will keep my food, fitness and personal journals(headwork) up to date.

2. I will read something inspirational each day, or review what I’ve already learned from my collection.

3. I will look to my mentors for advice and guidance.

4. I will take progress photos at every 20# loss, and make them public to my peers and support system.

I will PERSIST at these objectives until my goal of -100# is achieved. At that time, I will decide if I really need to take the weight loss further, depending on factors such as my lean body weight, my overall strength, and how I feel and look in my clothes. I will not deviate or alter these objectives until that time.

My name is Deb, and I am a Maintainer in Training.

dip